Hot Topics is a Microsoft Educator Network initiative. Your application to become a columnist needs to be approved. Hot Topics columnists contribute weekly or biweekly. Full blog posts are published. Contributors are allowed to cross-post from their own blog.

The News Radar project is run by Marjolein Hoekstra. Every MIEExpert15 can participate. You decide the frequency of your posts, with a maximum of once daily. On purpose, only excerpts of original posts are published. All post titles link back to the author’s own blog to give as much credit as possible.

Participating in the News Radar is completely voluntary. You’re strongly encouraged to join if you think it’s fun and if you can devote the time and energy to it. Composing high-quality blog posts that are attractive to fellow readers does require some dedication.

You’re most welcome to participate in the News Radar. Firstly, do consider joining the Facebook group. It’s the primary social-media channel where MIEExpert15 engage with each other and where you’ll find updates about the News Radar. You may want to start by reading the Facebook announcement of the News Radar project. That said, the next question may apply to you.

Yes there is, no problem. You are most welcome to join the News Radar. An overview of all updates and announcements that were originally published on the Facebook group are now available on the News Radar information page. If you think you get it already, jump straight to the next question.

Many MIEExpert15 gained confidence to start or restart blogging right through the News Radar project. If you’ve never blogged before, think of the advantages to take this opportunity now: this is your chance to learn something new, tell the world how you think about educational innovations, get feedback about your writing, ánd get your blog posts and profile listed on a public website.

Not at all. In fact, the News Radar has been a multi-lingual project from the outset. You are most welcome to blog in your own language. The News Radar front page has a Bing Translator widget that people can use to read your post.

As far as blogging systems go, consider WordPress or Blogspot. Once you are familiar with blogging, make sure you follow the step-by-step instructions on the How-to-Join Page to submit your blog to the News Radar.

No, the News Radar deliberately only publishes a 60-word excerpt from your blog posts, then prompts readers to read the the full article on your own website. You are encouraged to include an image or embed a video at the top of your post to make it more attractive. The blog post title on the News Radar is a hyperlink to the full article on your own website.